At HORIBA we are all part of a family which cares and supports each other, and we work together to create a brighter future for all.
It’s a company which believes in letting ‘the nail stand out’ principle, as our founder Masao Horiba was saying. We’re not afraid to stick our heads up in case we get hit. We’re encouraged to think outside the box, to sometimes make mistakes, learn from them and move forward. HORIBA promotes innovation and development through continuous improvement which helps create a better place to work. And the concept of our motto ‘Joy and Fun’ demonstrates our determination to meet and exceed expectations, to realise our personal aspirations and take pride in a job well done.
We continue to provide excellence and value for our clients, stakeholders and partners by staying ahead of the curve. We work closely with global industry leaders on future technologies that will emerge many years later. They rely on us to provide the equipment, tools and knowhow to enable them to add value to the product or service they provide to their customers. These are truly collaborative partnerships with our products delivering the key data and information our partners need to make informed decisions around the challenges they face. That’s why we’re recognised as a world-leader in not just products, but also the expertise we provide.
In light of COP26, which is hosted this year in our country, I would like to highlight HORIBA’s contribution in the fight of climate change. We deliver technologies, such as water and air quality analysers which allow our partners to develop green solutions and monitor the effectiveness of their strategies.
HORIBA remains committed to a more sustainable future for all, by designing and manufacturing cutting-edge equipment that enables the understanding of the impact of climate change and the development of solutions to tackle it.
Climate change is an issue that concerns us all. We wish that COP26 will be both a catalyst for change and a beacon of hope. And we, as individuals and businesses, must play our part in securing a sustainable future for generations to come by working collaboratively with the wider society.
So, for HORIBA, this is about much more than delivering the world-beating equipment we provide and the data it gathers. We have a clear vision of what our role needs to be in constructing a better future for all of us.
Our company code of ethics says we will ‘actively engage in improvement activities aimed towards global environmental conservation’ with the aim of ‘passing on to the next generation a global environment in better condition’.
But we haven’t stopped there. HORIBA joined the United Nations Global Compact as far back as 2011, where we pledged to tackle green challenges, to accept greater environmental responsibility and to develop technologies which protect our planet.
Moreover, we are constantly working to reduce our carbon footprint, by establishing a number of internal policies and procedures, such as a hybrid working system, going paperless and establishing electric vehicle charging stations in our premises.
The solutions we provide are powerful tools in the hands of doctors, scientists, town planners, and governments among others to take actions which will save or transform the lives of tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, of people in the coming decades. For example, our solutions are enabling scientists to work on ground-breaking research into Alzheimer’s Disease or were used to first detect micro-plastics in a human placenta, sparking investigations into the impacts it’s causing.
But, as always, there remain challenges ahead in areas such as electrification, green energy and more of the de-carbonisation technologies emerging in the battle against climate change.
We need to be incredibly agile and fast to respond to the needs of a rapidly changing world. Industries are evolving faster now than at any time in history. Just look at the automotive industry. It’s facing the most disruptive change since Henry Ford opened his first mass-production factories. In such demanding times we see our customers as partners and, as such, we do everything we can to collaborate with them and be part of positive change.
But it goes further than that. As partners we support those we work with every step of the way, in good times and in bad. We provide excellent customer support. If a client has a problem our first reaction is to fix it and deal with any further issues later. They know they matter to us.
And, of course our products are world-leading. They’re reliable and long-lasting. It’s that mixture of service life, reliability, customer service, loyalty and a sense of partnership which has allowed us to have so many businesses work continually with us over many, many decades.
Working with our partners to enable positive change in almost every aspect of society is something I’m extremely proud of and every HORIBARIAN should share that pride in the full knowledge that every one of us, every day, is helping to make the world a better, safer and more sustainable place.
Stuart Knight joined HORIBA in 1998 tasked with establishing HORIBA’s Europe semiconductor business and he was appointed as President of HORIBA UK in April 2019, having successfully served in various roles.
